


Stare

by angel_authoress



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, based on an au i saw on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 21:35:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7774549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_authoress/pseuds/angel_authoress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara Oswald has just about had it with the creep that keeps staring at her every time she comes to the food court.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stare

**Author's Note:**

> AU: "We're sitting in a food court and I can see you staring at me so what's your fucking deal- wait are you drawing me?"
> 
> So I saw this on a list of AU's on tumblr and I thought "this is perfect for Twelve and Clara". You see, there was a deleted scene where Twelve explains that he's been writing down Clara's facial expressions and translating them. So I thought that these two scenarios would go hand-in-hand. 
> 
> This turned out much longer than I intended it to be. Enjoy ^^

Clara Oswald has just about had it.

And no, it’s not the terrible fast food that’s frustrating her so badly. No, the problem is that she can’t even enjoy her BLT (which, in all honesty, isn’t that bad) without getting the intense feeling of being _watched._

She knows she’s being watched. She hasn’t caught the culprit just yet, but she knows she will, because this isn’t the first time this has happened, so it has to be the same person. This mall just so happened to be right next to the school she taught at, so it was quite convenient for her lunch break. So, every other day she would come to the food court at the mall and have lunch. And every time she would sit down and eat, she felt the _same_ pair of eyes on her. Every. Single. Time.

And Clara was _sick_ of it.

Putting her sandwich down, Clara decided that she was going to track down this creep and give them a piece of her mind. She quickly looked around the food court, searching for any potential suspects. It wasn’t very busy today, and most people were either in line or just leaving. There were only a few people sitting down, so that narrowed it down quite a bit. She had felt the eyes coming from the left side of her, so that was where she focused her attention.

There was a mother with her two kids sitting a few feet away, the three of them chattering away and giggling. She doubted it could be them; they seemed occupied and, quite frankly, they didn’t seem like the type. There was also a man sitting across from them, but he seemed too focused on his own food to really be paying any mind to her.

_So who..?_

There was one more man, sitting in front of the guy that looked to be enjoying his cheeseburger a bit too much. He was an older man, gray hair and all, and he didn’t have any food in front of him. Just a drink and what appeared to be a notebook.

Now _this_ could be her suspect. It was suspicious enough that this man didn’t have any food and appeared to be just _sitting_ there. But his eyes were roaming around the room, and the man exuded an aura of mystery himself.

Clara narrows her eyes at him. _Gotcha._

Briefly, she considers the possibility of this _not_ being the guy, and how utterly _embarrassing_ it would be to explain herself and apologize. But her frustration and utter outrage pushed that train of thought aside as she rose to her feet and stomped over to where the man appeared to be doodling something.

“Oi, old man. Have you got a problem with me or something?” she snaps. She seats herself in front of him, folding her arms and placing them on the table. The man’s head snaps upward, eyes wide and owlish. He places his hand over the notebook, as if to hide his work.

“No, not in particular.”

“Then why are you staring at me?”

The man seems to ponder the question for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. “…You noticed?”

“Yes, of course I noticed! Did you think I couldn’t tell?!”

“No, I could tell that you were starting to take notice. But I didn’t think you’d be able to figure out who it was.”

Clara’s eyes go wide. With her arms still folded, she leans back against the chair. She was taken aback by the utter _audacity_ of this man. She had just caught him staring at her for these past few weeks, and all he could do was say that he was surprised that she had figured out it was him!

“Yeah, well I did. It’s creepy, and I want it to stop.” she demands.

The man looks down at his notebook in thought for a moment before sighing. “Fine. I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.”

“Mmhm.”

The man just returns his attention to his notebook, as if he was expecting her to just go away. No, Clara wanted more answers out of him, and damn it she was going to get them.

“Why were you staring at me?” she asks.

“Hm?”

She sighs. “Why were you staring at me?” she repeats.

“...I’m not at liberty to answer that question.”

“Oh really? You’re not? Well, I do believe I have the right to know, so start talking old man.”

“I do have a name, you know.”

“Yeah, and right now it’s “old man” until you tell me otherwise.”

He rolls his eyes. “John Smith.”

Clara “hm’s” in thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think I like “old man” better.”

“That’s not my name.”

“Well too bad, tough guy, because until you tell me why you’ve been staring at me these past few days, that’s your name.”

Another eye roll. “Do you really think that’s going to make me tell you?”

Clara frowns. “Well… it might. Worth a shot, I suppose.”

A small smile spreads across his face. He slowly begins removing his hand from the notebook that he had been covering. “Fine. You want to know why? Here.” He slides the notebook over to her.

Clara leans forward and pulls the notebook closer, and her jaw nearly drops to the floor. Both pages of the open notebook are covered with drawings of her face. The drawings are nearly perfect, correct down to every detail, no matter how miniscule. And, underneath each drawing is a little blurb.

“September 14th, 1:05 p.m. She has her hair up today; I’ve never seen it in a ponytail. It’s nice, I quite like it like that. Today I’ve come to notice that she doesn’t eat a whole lot. Wonder why. On a diet, perhaps?”

“September 15th, 1:04 p.m. I wonder how often she comes here, what her name is. Maybe I should ask instead of staring at her like this. Or not.”

“September 17th, 1:17 p.m. Today was the first time I’ve ever seen her smile. Oh, what a lovely smile it is.”

“September 20th, 1:20 p.m. I heard her laugh on the phone today. Wonder who she was talking to? A boyfriend, perhaps? Probably.”

“September 22nd, 1:00 p.m. She has her hair in a messy bun today. I think that’s my favorite hairstyle.”

“September 29th, 2:00 p.m. I haven’t seen her in a week, what made her stop coming for all that time? Maybe she noticed me and got scared.”

“October 1st, 1:31 p.m. She ordered a BLT. Never had one myself, wonder if they’re any good? She’s looking around now and she’s got a frown on her face. I don’t like it. Oh- I think she’s found me. About time.”

With tears threatening to form in her eyes, mouth agape, Clara looked up to meet the man’s eyes. “You- You drew these?”

He nods.

“A-And you wrote all of that-“

Another nod.

Clara looks away to hide the blush undoubtedly consuming her face at the moment. All this time, this man had been studying her. He had noticed every little thing, and appreciated it. It was still kind of creepy, yes, but sweet. In a way.

She looks up to meet his eyes again, a smile threatening to form. “Why- Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

He shrugs. “I was content just studying you. I didn’t think you’d realize it was me, so I thought I could continue to get away with it. But then I saw you coming towards me, and I realized that a confrontation was bound to happen at some point.”

She chuckles. “Well, maybe you should’ve been more discreet about it.”

“I suppose so.”

Silence falls. Clara looks back and forth between the drawings and him.

“About this one here…” She says, pointing to the drawing of her laughing. “On September 20th. You said you were wondering if I was talking to my boyfriend.”

“Yes, well, I had assumed that you were in a relationship, considering…”

“Considering..?”

“Well, you’re quite young. And you’re not unattractive. So yes, naturally I assumed you were in a relationship.”

She smirks. “Well, you know what they say about assuming. Unfortunately, your assumption is incorrect.” She flips to a new page in his notebook and grabs his pencil. She quickly scribbles something down on the page before rising to her feet, her chair scooting out from underneath her. She smiles at him before grabbing her purse and heading out.

John watches her as she walks out. He quickly returns his attention to his notebook only to discover a phone number and a message.

_“Next time, try talking. Usually it’s way more effective than creepy staring, but I guess this time it worked._

_P.S- I’m Clara, by the way. Thanks for asking.”_


End file.
